Blissful ignorance
by rvn-fthr
Summary: Ron dies without Hermione knowing, and as the order need a place to hide Snape they send him to live Ron's life in disguise... then the story begins
1. made you jump

Disclaimer(s): are a waste of space? so witout further ado..

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'I'm sure I'm capable of handling Miss Granger.' Smirked Snape sounding bored.

Tonks glared at him,

'Well I'm not! How on earth do you intend to pass for her best friend?! I think it's a terrible idea; you'll be discovered in a moment and well… even if you're not it's deceitful and should be quite simply unthinkable! I don't believe I'm the only one arguing against this! Has anyone even stopped to consider Hermione as an actual human being with thoughts and feelings?'

She raged, then pursed her lips, folded her arms and glared in turn at Snape, Lupin, Kingsley and McGonagall who were all looking worn and small seated at the rich oak table one of the only furnishings in the dining room of headquarters.

Voices and tempers were beginning to rise. Each was being more stubborn than the last, sure that their proposal was the only one that should be followed.

'Tonks your over ruled on this one, I'm sorry, but I really cant think of a better opportunity for ensuring Severus' safety, and this way we can keep spirits up a little, another death isn't what people need right now.'

'Nobody ever needs a loved one to die Remus! But pretending is worse; it's disrespectful to Ron and I…'

She hung her head and her shoulders drooped as she let out a defeated sigh.

'I'm sorry my dear, I just can't think of a better way' whispered Remus, as he reached for he hand under the table.

---

And so later that evening Snape stood head bent, shoulders hunched and hands resting on the kitchen worktop of his new home, at least for the time being, he glanced out of the window in front of him, the dark night sky acted as a mirror reflecting his face, blue eyes stared back at him and he raised his hand to his head, tussling his unfamiliar flaming hair. Then a movement behind him caught his eye in the glass, and as he listened he heard soft footfalls and casually reached for his wand. But before he had time to react two gentle arms wrapped around him from behind tickling his ribs as they passed; he jumped slightly in shock.

'Made you jump' a tender voice chuckled softly

'Miss Gr…' He began before remembering his position, and then the horrid realisation of his situation hit him. "Stay calm Severus you can do this saty calm" he thought over and over determinedly.

'You… You did nothing of the sort' he insisted, replying quite belatedly and somewhat sharply.

'Well if you're going to be touchy I shan't press the point, but you lie Mr Weasley'

Snape's whole body was tense his lips pursed and his glare aimed past his reflection out of the window.

Hermione watched his reflection and laughed aloud mistaking his posture for Weasley stubbornness.

'Fine, be like that' she smiled with mock attitude in her voice, she then rested her head on his back and lifted the hem of his jumper sliding her cold hands on to his flat stomach.

Severus' eye's widened in shock and a somewhat shrill note left his mouth as he span around quickly flinching away from the first human contact he had received for sometime. His reaction was intensified by, but not entirely due to her frozen hands; her touch on his bare skin had been more than enough to jolt his nervous system. And as he struggled to gain the composure he very rarely lost Hermione simply laughed, blew him a kiss, then turned away headed upstairs for a shower she informed him a little too casually, over her shoulder. Then she was gone leaving Severus in a complete state of bewilderment, not entirely sure if he'd been invited to join her, or indeed of anything else. Either way he decided to ignore the invitation and call another order meeting as promptly as possible, in which he intended to argue alongside Tonks.

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So there you have it, owt to say? well you know what to do... if you're left speachless i'll interpret that as the ultimate gesture of praise.


	2. change of heart

Enjoy!

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Snape waited until he could hear the water running then ventured upstairs, he'd already examined the downstairs layout. And wanted to see the rest without Granger watching him; thinking of the floor plan Lupin had given him he turned right at the top of the stairs, walking up the passageway and opening the door which had been marked as his, or rather Ron's.

The room was a fair size, with a king sized bed on the back wall and matching wardrobes occupying the spaces either side.

There were alcoves opposite to the bed and two bay windows to the left, one bay had a desk covered with parchment and books, the other a love seat. As he continued his examination he saw that an alcove contained a floor to ceiling book case which was packed, some books resting atop the others this was the first thing that didn't quite fit, the book case was fuller and more varied than he would have expected Weasley's to have been.

The next alcove looked as though it contained a gadget shop in its entirety which figured, and then the final one was made of glass which obviously had some magical property as you felt you could see through it completely and not at all.

He decided to avoid this for the time being. A floor length curtain near the door he had entered caught his interest and he walked towards it, reaching out to move it aside he felt a force shielding it and making it solid as rock taking out his wand he uttered three spells before the curtain became soft.

Pulling it back his eyes met an unexpected sight a large conservatory with a domed roof stood before him containing hundreds of plants, and a slim walk way, the room was light and airy and had a tropical feel about it. He decided this warranted closer attention but perhaps when Granger was out, as it wouldn't do to be caught exploring a house he was supposed to call his own.

So he let the curtain fall and turned back to his room, something about it was unsettling and although he dreaded what he would find he moved to the first wardrobe opening the door he saw a variety of wizards robes, cloaks, shoes etcetera, then walking around the bed he opened the other and he ground his teeth as a long mirror on the inside of the door reflected his body, and he looked upon the decidedly feminine clothing within.

At that moment he heard the bathroom door open and closed the wardrobe quickly moving away, then the door opened and in walked a dripping Hermione clad in a pink cotton dressing gown she smiled walking past him, towards her wardrobe and opening the door to take out some blue speckled pyjamas from one of the shelf's.

'So how was your day?' she asked placing the nightclothes on the bed and turning half towards him as she made to unfasten her robe,

'Oh… erm ok thanks… but the order's just called so I have to go… sorry'

'Oh well in that case wait a minute and ill come with you' she said pointing her wand at her hair drying it,

'No, no just me, see you later'

'Oh right, well I guess so'

'don't wait up' he said trying to smile at her, sensing that she felt something wrong, and then he fled.

He appeared outside number 12 moments later, and barged through the door setting off the charming Mrs Black, he ignored her ranting over 'blood traitors' and stormed into the living room where Lupin sat quite unashamedly curled up with Tonks on the sofa.

'I've changed my mind' he declared

'What on earth do you mean by that?' asked a very calm Lupin

'What do you mean "what do I mean by that?" isn't it obvious? I no longer want to do this I'll fend for myself; you best start making funeral arrangements for Mr Weasley'

'You've given it an hour, go away and try to work this one out, it's the best cover I can give you and I think you should stop being childish and look at this from an objective point of view. After all how hard can it be, I know this may be a foreign idea to you but if you're nice to her I don't see how this can go wrong'

'They were lovers did you know that? Why didn't I know they were an item before… ?'

'I didn't realise their relationship had developed that much I knew there was some connection but…'

'Oh honestly, for two intelligent men you are very dumb, obviously something was there, they're living together for Pete's sake!' laughed Tonks

'Well Harry was living with them before as well I thought they were just well you know… friends' defended Lupin

'Yes well I can believe that, you do tend to be a little blind to romantic inclinations unless they're handed to you, goodness knows I can testify to that. But I tried to stop this ridiculous notion this afternoon and I'm glad that you've come to your senses'

'No I don't think its wise to stop this, we've agreed that it's the best course of action and even with you two against it's still the majority's stance that you stay with Hermione, now if that's all you have to say I would like to resume my evening goodnight Severus'

Severus gaped for a moment; he'd just been dismissed, by the werewolf no less, after a tense pause he marched out completely exasperated at the arrogance of them all, how could Lupin sit there cuddled up and cosy when there were fights to be fought. And the same went for Granger and Weasley how could they begin something at such a time, how much easier this whole thing would be if they hadn't.

For the next three hours Severus moped about the streets of London feeling a distinct sense pity for himself, before he decided to stop acting like a school boy and get back to Hermione, after all he was Severus Snape, dark potions master, he could deceive in an instant and bend at will. Now if only he could figure out why Hermione Granger was scaring him more than the dark lord himself at this very moment, he'd be on to something.

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Snape stood at the edge of the king sized bed watching her sleep peacefully wondering how he was going to pull this off, he had no idea what he was supposed to do; he'd played spy a thousand times, but this role was new to him just like Remus had said, and it was alright for him sat cuddled up at home completely at ease. While he, Severus, had to figure out how to interact with a bossy know it all, in a way that would actually convince her he was her friend…more than her friend.

Her groaned at the prospect then sighing pulled back the edge of the quilt slipping in next to her. Although the bed was pretty enormous he lay so close to the edge he was in danger of falling out, he considered putting her under the bodybind curse then creating an invisible brick wall between the two of them, and only with difficulty with difficulty did he dismiss the idea and fall into an uneasy sleep.

Two hours later he awoke shivering, opening his eyes he looked around and saw that he had no covers, and next to him laid a gigantic bundled duvet, rolling over, he gently took hold of the edge nearest him, and pulled steadily… nothing happened so he moved closer and slipped one foot under the warmth of the bedding. Fifteen minutes later this had progressed to the whole of his left leg, something made him think that it was going to be a very long night, and just as this thought entered his mind something worse happened. Hermione rolled over, and although this gave him opportunity to get under the covers, it left him with very little private space.

He edged away from her slowly, moving steadily backwards before he felt himself sliding off the bed and powerless to stop it he landed with a thud on the floor; above him on the bed Hermione slept on.

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Thanks for reading, let me know what you think. And if you've any ideas you want to share I'll try to use them, as long as they don't involve giant chicken suits, or Snape in drag…


	3. caffeine

Disclaimer/ Authors notes: don't own HP but I am currently in possession of a rather awkward pc, it keeps crashing and losing things and generally annoying me (I'm rubbish with computers and they sense it!)

Well here's chapter 3 which was gonna be longer but I cut it in half so I didn't have to type as much and could get something up, that's good however as it means chap 4 should be quick in coming since I have it started and a plotline done 4 it… n yeah well here you have it enjoy:

'Minerva this is insane! I can't just let this go on; Remus is so stubborn I've never seen him like this. He's unwilling to talk about it, and when I try to bring up Hermione he's almost harsh, all he says is that he's weighted it all up and won't change his mind, I don't know what but I know I have to do something.'

Tonks was seated next to McGonagall on her red tartan settee, Tonks had her feet curled under her and a sweet cup of tea balancing precariously on her knee, while McGonagall sat straight slightly turned towards Tonks, cup of steaming black coffee clutched in both hands.

'I've known them both a long time Nymphadora, and their relationship will never be simple there are too many memories for that but I did think at least that they respected each other to some extent'

'well I don't know what to make of it, but if he wont discuss it I might just take things into my own hands I keep thinking how I'd feel if it was Remus and I was in Hermione's position, and I know Severus is in danger and everything, but we all are; so was Ron'

'But the death eaters search for Severus has become so fanatical of late and they are almost back to the position of power they held last time, thank goodness for Harry if people didn't have hope, well it doesn't bear thinking about'

'Minerva I want to tell Hermione, that way…'

'…Tonks you… '

'No hear me out if she knew it wouldn't be so unfair and he could keep his cover…'

'You think that Hermione would go on as normal? Just having learned of her boy friends death and Snape imposing on their life that was? This need to be an all or nothing mission I know it's hard'

'But...'

'Let me finish perhaps there is a way to make it easier, we could send him on a mission alone somewhere. What about to find out why the death eaters want Snape so badly'

'Well that's obvious they know he's traitor don't they'

'They do indeed but I think its more than that they could have killed him before now remember at Diagon alley?'

'Perhaps You Know Who wants him for himself?'

'but if it was a choice between killing him and letting him escape and their only motive was revenge surely he'd be dead, no I think there's more behind this. Right we need to figure out how this is going to work…'

Snape roused to life still feeling extremely groggy, but the feeling of soft hair under his nose was simply too much to bare for even a moment longer, so he sleepily mustered all the strength he could and rolled over, only to come into stark contact with the length of Hermione's body.

He started to life suddenly, and sat bolt upright in the bed, looking to his right he saw that it was not Hermione's hair but a large heap of a ginger cat that was presently curled up on his pillow that had originally distracted him. And that Hermione was still dozing on contentedly.

So Severus sat up properly and swung his feet and himself out of bed and thus away from Granger and her impossible cat who seemed to be in cohorts against his efforts to sleep through this nightmare and come out of it unscathed, or at least with all his limbs intact.

Half an hour later Severus sat sipping at his perfectly concocted cup of morning coffee, Hermione entered the room looking somewhat sleep rumpled and flopped down on the sofa next to him. She reached over and cupped his hands and drink in both of hers before tilting it towards her and taking a sip. She released him at once balking and covering her mouth with her hand.

'Ew! Ron! That's awful, what a lovely wake up call' she said in the most annoyed voice that her croaky voice would allow.

'You don't even drink coffee! Since when did you have a partiality to hot tar?'

'…well I thought you know try new things, besides its supposed to wake you up'

Still looking doubtful Hermione shook her head before curling her legs under her and snuggling into his arm.

'Great' though Snape 'I'm going to look like a zombie before the weeks through no sleep and no coffee'

However this encounter reminded him that if he was to stay under this guise he was going to have to work harder at playing his part, after all he thought looking down at the bushy head leant against him, there were worse places he could be.


	4. note on the fridge

Here you go hope you enjoy, from here the story should get moving a little quicker (not faster as in updates, just the plot)

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'Alright out with it'

'Pardon'

'You heard me, what's on your mind? I've had enough of the moping Ronald Weasley I want my Ron back, or at least to understand the change'

'Nothing, I mean I'm fine' geez was he such a mope? Snape thought he was being fairly cheerful and was taken completely aback by her comments. It was 6:00pm and they had just arrived home from their respective work posts, unbeknown to Hermione Snape had taken the day as a holiday and spent his time familiarising him self with Mr Weasleys life in order to solidify his cover.

She pursed her lips frowning slightly

'Okay, if your sure but if there's anything you'd like to tell me you'd better do it now, I think you'll find me very understanding but I wont be lied to alright?'

Now he was baffled, looking down directly in to the young witches eyes he held her gaze just long enough to see her feelings on this, he was surprised how unguarded she was considering her active mind then contemplate the possibility of the company relaxing her in this regard rather than this being her general state, his queries over this halted however when he derived her thought patterns, in short Hermione's imagination had thought up the possibility of him having an affair, this apparently stemmed from two days with less physical contact than she was used to and catching him gazing distantly once.

Rubbing his forehead he smiled, then reached across and held her shoulders, gazing through her mind her read private memories just enough to steal a few of Ron's tender words ensuring he wasn't about to speak out of term or any new revelations he said:

'Listen Hermione, I love you, I always have. I just have some things to think through at the moment…'

'What sort of things Ron speak to me, I need to know'

'Just order things, and since you mention it I'll be away for a while working on something'

'Since I mention it?! Away for a while! Working on 'something?' were you planning on leaving a note on the fridge to tell me this?'

He'd said the 'L' word what more did she want?

'It won't be for long, you won't even notice I'm gone'

'You mean you hoped I wouldn't notice. Where are you going?'

'I don't know yet, I don't find out what I'm doing until I get there'

'Fine if you don't want to talk then neither do I!'

And with that she spun on her heal and disappeared into thin air.

After standing in the same spot for several moments Severus decided it had gone well, considering his lack of experience in such matters.

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Remembering Hermione's comment about the note on the fridge Severus had sheepishly left a note (done by wand to imitate Ron's style) on the table, saying he'd left for a safe house to complete a task for the order and he'd be in touch.

Currently he stood browsing rows of thick potions volumes in hope of finding one to help him with his task, he had been given a half empty vial and asked to figure out its components and purpose. It had been taken during a death eater gathering but the spy had had to leave in a hurry after been given the vial to take and stealing it instead of consuming it, he was subsequently out of operation in that area. Two more that had been sent in hadn't been heard from since.

Pawing through a particularly heavy manuscript he looked down the complicated charts nodded in half satisfaction and snapped it closed, heading for the counter. Although the book wasn't as detailed as the edition he had had in his possession everything of his that had been in his house had been either cursed or destroyed when Voldemort attacked.

Just as he was about to head out of the rows of books to pay, his brain automatically did a synopsis of the area around him and he noticed, on the off chance really, a pretty well hidden Hermione Granger, to all pretences casually skimming through a book two isles away from where he had been. Snape backed up turning left away from her, and then when he knew the shelves would only just be blocking her view of him he doubled back, walking quickly but silently up an isle, backing up to come out behind her.

As he was approaching her she had replaced the book and was nonchalantly stepping forward, presumably to move to a better vantage point.

He reached out from behind her touching her arms at the same time he bent to whisper in her ear 'well now, what a coincidence seeing you here'

Hermione jumped and span half around a strangled cry lost in her throat as she came face to face with him.

'Ron! You scared me!'

'And you shocked me, what are you doing here?'

Snape felt a strange sense of satisfaction as he saw her blush delightfully

'I just wanted to see where you were going… erm I just thought' closing her eyes she shook her head and turned fully around to him leaning her forehead on his chest

'I'm sorry; I just didn't know what to think'

'You've got nothing to be sorry for, well I suppose a little repentance at not trusting me wouldn't go entirely amiss, oh and unless I am much mistaken a plotting charm?'

She nodded humbly.

'Well that was inexcusable, however I know I've been a bit off and we can't help what we feel or think for that matter'

Stepping away from her he reached around the bookcase and gathered the book he had placed down before starting his chase then walked past her towards the counter.

Shortly afterwards they walked out of the bookshop, Hermione looping her arm with his,

'Hold on tight' he said and took her, side along to the safe house where he would be working.

They both stood in front of his door slightly awkwardly, Hermione was the first to break the silence 'Well I guess I should be off, I expect you've work to be getting on with'

Snape wanted more than anything to agree and watch her walk away disheartened but chastised him self to the point where the words escaped his mouth almost without his bidding.

'Come on, in we go, but the second you become a distraction your out, okay?'

Grinning broadly she walked past him in to the safe house,

'I can't think what you mean' she sighed in a most unconvincing way.

And despite himself Severus smiled as he followed Hermione in closing the door behind them.

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There you have it let me know what you think…if you so wish, either way thanks for reading.


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